Plus, we love hearing your grilling stories and experiences. Over on the Better Business Bureau site, they’re rated A+, and the few negative reviews are mainly from complainers who could probably never be made happy, anyway. No charcoal, no lava rocks, no wood, not even electricity to worry about.
In the meantime, I seasoned one rack of St. Louis-style pork spareribs (3.6 pounds) with ordinary dry rub mix sourced from the local supermarket. To measure how grills perform under high heat conditions, I subjected them to our burger test. This exercise shows how much raw power a grill can bring to the table. I ran three such tests of six 5.3-ounce burgers each pressed from the same hamburger press. I flipped all of the burners on high and gave the grill 10 minutes to preheat. To add smarts to the Genesis II you’ll need to purchase the iGrill 3 accessory separately, a $100 upgrade.
The new GS4 system is simply beautiful, the build quality still top notch and the heat distribution perfect, even on the larger models. Weber also offers a Genesis II model specifically designed to work with your natural gas connection, if you have one. It does not sell a conversion kit weber charcoal grill for the Genesis II product line, so you can’t convert this propane gas grill to a natural gas grill without buying a new one if you change your mind in the future. Natural gas can save you money in the long run, but the location of your connection limits where you can place your grill.
But charcoal takes time to light, and you have to be comfortable with moving around coals and fiddling with vents to control the grill’s heat. The now-discontinued Char-Broil Advantage 3-Burner Gas Grill from Lowe’s met the low expectations we set upon seeing its sub-$200 price. It cooked weber genesis 2 burgers acceptably, but to get an even cook we had to shuffle the patties around from hot spots to cool spots. Unable to keep a steady low temperature, it burned the barbecue chicken. To this grill’s credit, it made a nice indirect-roasted chicken—but then again, every tested grill did.
All the other features are standard as with the other models. The only differences here are cooking space and amount of burners. Weber guarantees that this ignition will ignite the first time, every time, and it’s easy to see why!
Reviews, prices, and hands-on time convinced us they didn’t have the initial quality to compete. As for maintenance, the Spirit’s flat grates were easy to keep clean with a grill brush, and its grease trap was easy to access for dumping and washing. The same goes for the Genesis II, whose grates are identically made but slightly larger. The other grills also have easy-access grease traps—not much to ask for, really. But we found the Napoleon model’s wavy grills hard to clean because we couldn’t run the grill brush in long strokes. But those judgments would have to wait until we got our hands on the contenders.
The two-burner Weber Genesis II LX S-240 is a small grill, and at $1,000, it’s one of the most expensive small grill in our tests. Heat was fairly well-distributed across the cooking surface and the temperature range was very good, but you’ll need a bit more than 10 minutes of preheating to get it nice and hot. If you grill regularly or you enjoy grilling on weeknights, when time is at a premium, you should invest in a gas grill. A good one costs $400 to $700 but will serve you well for years. Although that’s over twice the price of a quality charcoal grill, it’s worth the investment if you prioritize speed and convenience.
There are also multiple color choices available for the II E-330 model and for several other grills in the Genesis II E series. In 2017, Weber updated its popular Genesis models with the introduction of the Genesis II line. What are the differences between these grills, and how might the changes affect your grilling experience?
The Genesis model uses the same cast-iron, porcelain-enameled grates that are reversible and provide wide and thin sides. The open cart design is also retained, as are the six hooks for easy organization. The two work tables on either side cannot be folded down and the two all-weather wheels now come with locking casters.
They’re definitely pricier than many of the grills you’ll find through online retailers, but not as expensive as some of the competition (or even Weber’s own Summit line). If you have a bit of money to invest in a quality unit, a Genesis grill could be the way to go. For those with small patios or decks, the Weber Genesis II E-210 offers the reliability and sturdy construction of the brand’s bigger and far more expensive options, but in a much smaller unit. Two large wheels on one side and two locking swivel casters on the other make it easy to move the grill to different parts of the patio or deck. Still, the grill isn’t exactly what we’d call portable, as it doesn’t break down to fit into the back of a car for tailgating. We independently research, test, review, and recommend the best products—learn more about our process.